Opera Like No King During Mozart's Time Could Enjoy

For the longest time, before the age of videos, DVDs, movies, television, radio...

The best, and most sought after entertainment was in the form of theater and/or opera.

Theater is nice but opera is something else entirely. It is musical theater. It allows multiple actors to communicate through song simultaneously...

And the nice thing about opera is the opportunity of audience members to hear each voice and understand wonderfully as several lines of communication overlap one another. Plus,

The sounds of the orchestra can create moods, sensations that envelop you, that must be experienced to be fully appreciated.

So, in opera the audience is entertained on multiple levels: with the sounds of an orchestra, with the singing from beautiful voices, and the sights of elaborate staging.

All the senses are commanded to participate... yes, even the sense of smell... if your nose is still sensitive enough you might detect the perfumes of the theater goers that surround you.

You can even engage your sense of taste by popping an Altoid mint in your mouth... but please do not make noise with the wrapper else you disturb your neighbors.

So image my delight as I sat in comfort, on my own turf, and commanded a special performance of Giacomo Puccini's opera: Turandot.

I wanted the Metropolitan Opera to perform for me in a private show.

I wanted the Metropolitan Ballet, the Metropolitan Opera Chorus and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra to perform.

I insisted on James Levine to be the conductor, for Placido Domingo to be Calaf, Leona Mitchell to be Liu and Eva Marton to play the role of Turandot. Ah, and while I was in the ordering mode I requested Paul Plishka to play Timur and Roger Koch to play Il Carnefice.

"Would you like subtitles with your opera sir?"

"Absolutely... English please."

"Very well sir, and would you like those subtitles to appear at the bottom of the screen... white text on black background... or would you prefer comic book type bubbles near the singers' mouths."

"The former please... no need to turn the sublime into a comedy," I responded.

And so it was...

My wishes were granted and on 6 May 2005 I feasted on a most spectacular command performance... and I was the sole attendee!

Let the show begin...

The lights went down.

The applause commenced and became louder as James Levine walked out to the orchestra pit, bowed to the audience, grabbed his baton and commanded the orchestra to play...

The curtain was raised and the stage was a dark one... it was full of a milling crowd... Chinese peasants.... laborers and soldiers moving here and there. This is not a pleasant place... human heads decorated the highest points of vertical posts that numbered in the dozens... a large old and blind man is led around the stage by a servant girl. His name is Timur and her name is Liu. Soon I see the well dressed Calaf appear. He sees his father and asks why he is there. Timur explains... the stage is set... we discover that the Princess Turandot is to be wed but only if a Prince can solve her three riddles. If a Prince fails the test he is beheaded... and we realize that those heads belonged to unsuccessful suitors... we also discover the Prince of Persia has recently failed the test and is soon beheaded... we hear his final screams... Calef is disgusted by this spectacle... He demands to see the person who would commit such horrific deeds... His wish is answered when...

He sees Turandot and is instantly smitten... he falls head over heels for her... totally infatuated with her beauty... he must have her as his wife... but how? Ah...

It turns out that a trio of Chinese wise-guys called Ping, Pang and Pong fill him in on Turandot and her "test"... Sound the gong and she will appear.... answer correctly all three riddles and she will be yours but if you miss just one of the three questions... it's off-with-your-head!

Calaf wants a stab at this test so he grabs the mallet, rings the gong and announces boldly that he will submit to the test because Turandot shall be his wife...

Oh brother!

But, this is what great tales are made of... the only thing missing is the incomparable Jack Jones singing the theme to "The Love Boat"... but come to think of it Puccini didn't write that into the Libretto and I didn't order it when I requested this command performance so let us get back to the story...

So we witness the Princess ask her first question... Calaf answers it.... Then she asks her second question... this time it takes him a little longer but... he gets it right... this gives him the honor of hearing the third and final question... it's a tough one... but old Calaf gets it right... Hahoo! Yipee-Hi-Ho-Cow-Hand!

Turandot can not believe her ears! How can this be? I'm too pure to get married? Yeeiicks! I never expected that anyone would get all three questons right. This isn't fair. Doesn't he know I'm a staunch woman's-libber... doesn't he know I hate men? So...

She cries to her father, who happens to be the king... but this king is the same one who has despised his role of enforcer of the law... he hated seeing all those young princes die, he even begged Calaf not to tempt fate by agreeing to the questioning... but now, the law is the law and his daughter has to live up to her end of the bargain...

But, while she may be pretty, she is one bad sport... so she keeps moaning and groaning and stamps her feet and pulls a tantrum...

Meanwhile, Calaf tells her (through song of course... remember this is opera) that if she can guess his name by the next morning she can cut off his head but, if she fails he gets to marry her.

Now it is clear that Calaf is a first class risk-taker... he's a junkie to danger... he's a lover of living in the fast-lane...

It doesn't take too many nanoseconds before you realize that Calaf would have been safer to take out an insurance policy against his life for 2 Billion Ounces of Gold with Turandot as the beneficiary... most of us would agree that this would not be a smart move. So night comes and won't you know it...

Old Turandot is up to her old tricks... she has her henchmen torture people... no one is to sleep all night until the mystery man's name is discovered and then...

Timur and Liu are captured and they have been accused of knowing the identity of the successful suitor. We have ways of making you talk...

Why did it take so long to find someone who knows Calaf's name... heck, everyone in the orchestra pit knows the name, James Levine the conductor knows the name, and at least half of the audience who read the program know the name Calaf... but the illusion must be maintained and Turandot tortures Liu... who is really in love with Calaf and admits it publicly... so, in order to protect Calaf's identity she grabs a knife and kills herself... oooohhh, the humanity!

So now Calaf is really mad.. what's the idea of forcing an innocent girl to kill herself? He isn't satisfied with Turandot's response... so he has no choice but to kiss Turandot (like I said earlier... this guy likes to live dangerously)... she is revolted... so he kisses her again... this time she doesn't resist as much... he kisses her again and voila... the third time is a charm... passions flow within her where only ice flowed before... she is a changed woman... but is she?

Calaf, who doesn't believe in leaving good enough alone, tells her his name. Now this is truly fascinating... it is unique to say the least... in fact, most people would never think of doing such a thing... What is this guy thinking? It's not even dawn yet! Sometimes these young infatuated princes just make you stand back and wonder...

So, after the sun has appeared to rise over the horizon, everyone gathers and Turandot announces victoriously that she has discovered the prince's name.

Oh no... she's going to have another head removed from a princely body...

But wait, she announces that his name "Is Love!" Oooohhh, this turns out to be a love story after all... And all ends well and Calaf keeps his head and gets Turnadot to love him and everything is pretty and cute and this command performance was possible because...

The entire opera was viewed from replaying a VHS Hi-Fi Stereo digital recording that was produced at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York City, New York in April of 1987.

The wonders of technology allowed me to step back into time and view what had taken place nearly 20 years earlier. And, the technology allowed me to watch this masterpiece performance when I wanted, where I wanted and as often as I wanted.

While the power vested in me was greater, in the above respects, than those of any King that lived in the time of Mozart, I still had to return the video to the library... because

The loan period was only good for two weeks. But, how can you complain when the video could provide so much pleasure for so little cost? And there lies the rub... what a king could never buy in his day... I got for free... And you have the same opportunity also, all you need to do is locomote to your local library... check out the videos in the video section... pick out a great opera... check it out and enjoy it to your heart's content. Go on... live like a king!

From Sell Info Products Online dot com (www.sellinfoproductsonline.com) and Basic Drum Beats dot com (www.basicdrumbeats.com) this is LeBlond, Gerard LeBlond and I'll see you there.